Dance by Moonlight
by yellow notepaper
Summary: Kagome doesn't have a date to the school dance. [kag.inu] Complete.
1. Chapter One

**Dance by Moonlight – a fanfic by yellownotepaper**

**Category: **Inuyasha

**Rating:** PG-13

**Summary: **Kagome doesn't have a date to the school dance. kag.inu

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha or any of its character's.

**Forward:** For those of you who don't know, I started this fic in early 9th grade. At that point, I had published it (just the first bit) as a one-shot. Eventually, I started adding on (last summer, I think) but ran out of ideas soon after, and then promptly forgot about it. It was only a few weeks ago that I read over it and decided that I could do much better. And thus, here we have it. I rewrote the chapters that were already up, and finished the entire story.

I only have a vague idea of where this story is going. I'm just letting it write itself, basically – I'm just living off a muse here or something. Let's see where this takes me

-----

**I. Ask.**

"SIT!"

There was a loud thump as Inuyasha slammed face-first into the ground, shaking the ground slightly around him.

"Aahhhh!" Shippo cried in fear, running to hide behind Sango's leg. Sango sighed, and patted his head in a weary sort of way. Standing beside her, along the edge of the forest, was an exasperated looking monk, who was shaking his head in frustration.

"When will you learn, Inuyasha…" he muttered.

Inuyasha struggled to his feet, leaning on a nearby tree for support. He dragged a clawed hand across his face, which only served to smear the mud more evenly. He looked as if he were getting a face mask, which made Sango giggle unwillingly. Inuyasha did not seem to notice her amusement, however; he was too busy being furious with Kagome.

He spat out a large mouthful and glowered at Kagome. Kagome gave him a cold glance in response, grabbing her backpack and proceeding to walk along the path towards the well, away from Inuyasha.

Inuyasha's hands shook with anger as he steadied himself and jumped ahead, landing neatly in front of Kagome. He put his hands on her shoulders, shaking her as he said each word.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR, KAGOME?"

Kagome, as though bored with this whole tirade, wiped a bit of spittle off of her cheek irritably, and stared at him with a cool, infallible gaze. "Don't call me stupid, Inuyasha," she said loftily. "It's not nice."

Inuyasha stared at her in furious amazement. "Well, sitting me isn't very nice either!" he said at last.

Kagome broke their eye contact and started walking away again, leaving Inuyasha looking at her retreating form in shock. "Wench," he finally said, looking as if he didn't know quite what to do, and followed her. Kagome ignored his angry sentiment, and continued to walk with long, confident strides, her head held defiantly high.

"What the hell is with you?" he demanded, falling in step with her. "You've been funny ever since you came back from your time."

Kagome looked away, brushing a stray hair away from her face. "It's nothing."

A look of annoyance passed over Inuyasha's face. "It isn't, Kagome, so tell me and quit wasting my time!"

Kagome sighed, and looked at her feet. "I – I have a dance coming up, and –" she sniffed, "No one asked me to go!" She felt tears welling in her eyes and looked away, wiping them inconspicuously with her sleeve.

She coughed slightly, the only inclination that she might be lying. In truth, many boys had asked her, but she had turned all of them down. Her sights were narrowed to only _one_ boy.

One very inconsiderate, half-demon boy.

"Come on, Sango," said Miroku quietly, pulling on her sleeve. "Let's give them some time alone."

Sango looked at them glumly, as if she would very much like to stay and watch, but nevertheless followed Miroku's long steps towards the forest, taking Shippo with her.

"Hey! I want to see!" Shippo shrieked, squirming in her arms. Miroku chuckled.

"Maybe when you're older, Shippo," he said with a charming wink. Sango rolled her eyes as they disappeared into the woodland, their figures soon obstructed by the overbearing trees.

"Well, you'd better find a date quick," said Inuyasha bitterly. "It's interfering with our search for the jewel shards."

Kagome started, and stared at him in sudden recognition, as if she had suddenly realized that she was not alone. "Inuyasha," she began, her voice trailing off as she met his hard gaze.

"Spit it out, wench," growled Inuyasha.

Kagome looked down shyly, her superb acting skills showing their true colours (although Inuyasha didn't know _that_). "What if…_you_ were my date?"

Inuyasha flushed an adorable pink, his ears twitching. "If…I was your date?" he repeated doubtfully.

Kagome nodded eagerly. "Oh please, Inuyasha! You'll have a good time, I promise!" And damn it all if those big brown doe eyes didn't get to him like nothing else.

"But what about my ears?" Inuyasha said skeptically. "It isn't a costume ball, is it?"

Kagome seemed to sag a bit, and Inuyasha immediately wished that he hadn't spoken. "What day, exactly, is this dance?" he said wearily.

"This Friday," said Kagome sadly. And, suddenly, she graced him with a beautiful smile. "Oh, Inuyasha, but it's the new moon! Your ears will be gone!"

This logic was too obvious to ignore. He knew that he would most definitely regret what he was about to say later, but Kagome was staring at him in such a way that he couldn't bear to see her let down. A defeated sigh escaped him as he threw his arms into the air. "I suppose I'll go," he muttered, not meeting her eyes.

Kagome's face lit up with joy and she threw her arms around him, grinning uncontrollably. "Thank you, Inuyasha!" she squealed. Inuyasha stiffened, but relaxed a few seconds after and wrapped his arms tentatively around her.

"You're welcome, Kagome," he said softly. Kagome grinned.

Victorious again.

-----

"That is just so CUTE!"

Miroku looked at Sango strangely, while Sango continued to squeal and babble happily at the scene unfolding in front of them from their hidden spot in the trees. "I wish we had dances." she said wistfully.

"Dances?" said Miroku, frowning slightly.

Sango stared at him. "A party in which you _dance?_" she said disbelievingly, soon smirking at his reddening face.

"Yes, yes, of course," said Miroku hurriedly.

"I've never been to one," she added, still staring at Kagome and Inuyasha as if she wished that it was herself that Inuyasha was hugging so tightly. A flame of jealousy erupted in Miroku, and he coughed.

The gears in Miroku's lecherous brain began working furiously. _Hey_, said a voice in his head. _This would be the perfect chance to ask her out. Go for it, buddy!_

'Are you my conscience?' Miroku thought, confused.

_Who cares, just ask her out!_

'But how?'

_Are you that stupid?_ _Take her to the dance that Kagome is having!_

"Oh, I get it!" Miroku said triumphantly, not realizing that he had just spoken out loud.

"Get what?" said Sango, cocking her head to the side slightly.

"Nothing," said Miroku hastily. "So, Sango, I was wondering…would you like to come to Kagome's dance with me?" he said in his smoothest, most charming voice.

Sango's eyes widened in pleasant surprise. "You would do that for me, Miroku?"

Miroku smiled charismatically. "Of course," he said pleasantly, and no sooner than he had done this, everything went dark. He soon realized that Sango had jumped on top of him in her act of sheer happiness, and his face was buried in her chest.

"Ahhhh…" he sighed blissfully as one hand slid out from in his purple robes and gently rubbed the curve of Sango's derriere.

Inuyasha and Kagome split apart at a loud smacking noise from behind the bushes. Sounds of pain and angry cries of "Stupid pervert!" could be heard, along with loud, crunching noises of the fallen leaves as someone stomped deeper into the forest. Shippo, clearly frightened of Sango in this state, sprinted out of the bushes and hid behind Kagome, trembling.

"He's at it again," said Inuyasha, shaking his head.

"When will he learn?" Kagome added, comforting Shippo as they headed back to camp.

"Oh," said Inuyasha suddenly, as if this thought had just occurred to him. "There might be a little problem in our plans."

Kagome looked at him suspiciously. "Like what?" she said cautiously. Inuyasha shrugged nonchalantly.

"I can't dance."

-----

**A:N://** Okay, there you go. The first revised chapter. The remaining plot will be basically the same as the older unfinished Dance by Moonlight, just edited. And finished.

Erin


	2. Chapter Two

**Dance by Moonlight – a fanfic by yellownotepaper**

**Category: **Inuyasha

**Rating:** PG-13

**Summary: **Kagome doesn't have a date to the school dance. kag.inu

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha or any of its character's.

**-----**

**II. Learn.**

"Like this?" said Inuyasha, attempting to do a dance move that Kagome had just showed him and succeeded in stepping on her foot.

Kagome's eyes watered a bit with the pain as she groaned exasperatedly. "No, Inuyasha," she sighed. "Keep your hand here," she said, putting her hand on Inuyasha's and guiding it to her shoulder. Inuyasha blushed, and promptly scowled, embarrassed.

"Let's try it again," she said bravely. "Okay…one, two, three, four, one, two three….OUCH!" Inuyasha had stepped on her foot again.

"Inuyasha, can you _please_ try not to permanently injure me?" she yelled, losing her temper as she massaged her foot.

Inuyasha's face reddened with anger. "Well maybe if you were a proper teacher I wouldn't be stepping on your foot!" he shouted, his golden eyes flashing dangerously.

Kagome's mouth fell open. "What!" she screeched, her hair practically crackling with electricity. Inuyasha recognized danger, and began to back away slowly as Kagome approached him.

'Shit,' Inuyasha thought furiously. '"Uh, Kagome," he said weakly. "You know I was just kidding…?"

Kagome glared at him with her deep, brown eyes, and Inuyasha could see anger reflected in them. But there was something else etched onto her face…regret?

Inuyasha blinked, and it was gone. Before his brain could register what he had just seen, Kagome had already spoken, and he was lying face down in the mud for the second time that day.

He sputtered, mud plastering his clothes to his skin. He glared at Kagome, who did not flinch, and got up, spitting mud onto the floor.

Kagome gave him the filthiest glare she could muster, before turning around and beginning to walk away, once again, towards the Bone-eaters well. Inuyasha stared at her disbelievingly, watching the sway of her hips as she moved farther into the distance. He scowled and looked away, his heart beating a bit faster than it should have been. However, a quick plan of revenge hatched in his mind.

"Wait, Kagome!" Inuyasha called, a wicked smile curving the corners of his mouth. She turned around just in time for him to shake like a dog, mud flying off of him in all directions.

"Eek!" Kagome squealed as her attire became splattered with mud. She stared down at her clothes in disbelief, apparently disgusted. "These are dry clean only, you jerk!" she screamed.

Inuyasha stood up, smirking nastily at her. He half-regretted his actions when she walked straight up to him, her hair flying around her face in fury. He knew what was coming now, and as he closed his eyes in absolute fear, a second brilliant idea came to him. He opened his eyes now, all trace of fear on his face gone to be replaced with malicious humor.

Kagome did not notice this sudden switch of emotions, and glared at him with such intensity that some fear entered his mind again, though he knew that she would soon share that feeling. Her eyes flashed maliciously, before she yelled, for the second time that day, "SIT!"

Inuyasha grabbed her as she yelled, and pushed her underneath him just as the spell took effect. His silver hair fell over her face, only inches from his own, their noses brushing as she stared at him in surprise. "Wha –" she began, but it was too late.

The spell slammed Inuyasha slammed to the ground, landing hard on Kagome and coating her in a thick, goopy mud that sprayed up all around them from the force of their fall. Inuyasha was pushed flush against Kagome, her arms reflexively curling around his back. Although already splattered, Kagome was now completely soaked in a disgusting brown coat of earth. Kagome's eyes were closed, her breathing unsteady and her fists clenched. Their faces were still ever so close, and Inuyasha felt himself flush unwillingly.

Her eyes flashed open, filled with such fury that Inuyasha quickly jumped off of her and into the air, landing a few feet away with a soft 'whoosh'. Kagome seemed to still be in some sort of shock; she stood up as well, shaking off her arms and spraying mud everywhere.

"Inuyashaaaaa," she wailed, looking down at her sodden clothes. She looked absolutely miserable, and a flicker of regret twinged in his mind.

This, however, did not stop him from laughing at the sorry state of her uniform.

Before he had time to say anything more, a soft rustling noise behind Inuyasha signaled the return of Sango and Miroku, who were closely followed by Shippo. Miroku and Shippo looked shocked at their appearance, but Sango, who had evidently been expecting something like this, rolled her eyes.

"What happened to _you? _said Miroku, his mouth gaping open as he pointed a finger at the muddy Kagome. Kagome glared at him, and he wordlessly dropped his hand to look at the ground.

Sango laughed and said, "I think you guys need a bath."

-----

"Bath time," Kagome muttered bitterly as she walked out her tent, clad only in a white towel, a bottle of shampoo dangling unceremoniously in her hand. She slipped on a pair of rubber flip flops, and began walking down the dirt path to the hot springs.

"Hey," said a voice from behind her, and Kagome turned around to face a grinning Sango, looking very much like her twin in a matching towel and plain black sandals.

"Hey," said Kagome softly, stopping to wait for her. "You're coming?"

"We all are," said Sango, somewhat resentfully.

An icy feeling of dread flooded through Kagome, making her freeze in her tracks. "What do you mean, we are _all_ going?" She faced Sango with a look of desperation on her face. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

Sango almost laughed at the look of panic on her face, and continued to walk as Kagome ran a bit to catch up. "I mean that only one of the springs is hot enough to bathe in, Inuyasha and Miroku are already in it, and we're going into it." She paused, before adding, "And Shippo."

Kagome groaned and clapped a hand to her forehead. "Sango, what were you _thinking?_"

"It wasn't my idea," said Sango irritably. "You know how Miroku is; he's just looking for a chance to see us naked."

They both froze in their tracks this time, horror etched on their faces. It took them a few seconds to turn around and run back to their tent for their swimsuits.

-----

**A:N://** Nothing much to say here. o)

Erin


	3. Chapter Three

**Dance by Moonlight – a fanfic by yellownotepaper**

**Category: **Inuyasha

**Rating:** PG-13

**Summary: **Kagome doesn't have a date to the school dance. kag.inu

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha or any of its character's.

-----

**III. Bathe.**

Kagome followed Sango over to the springs, where she identified two figures as Inuyasha and Miroku. They were both clad in swim trunks, and Kagome blushed girlishly at the sight of both of their naked (and toned, she noticed devilishly) torsos.

"Hello ladies," said Miroku, his eyes grazing approvingly over their scanty attire. Inuyasha said nothing, but glanced at Kagome. When she looked at him, however, he quickly turned away as if very interested by the leafy plants nearby.

"Hello," said Sango stiffly. Kagome nodded at them, trying to hide the nervousness that had suddenly appeared at the sight of Inuyasha.

Sango nodded to Kagome, and they both dropped their towels and slid into the water with a soft splash. Miroku grinned at them; he slid over to Sango, his arm winding its way around her shoulders. Sango blushed but did not protest, although she glanced at Kagome, who winked at her and smiled.

"Ahh, this is the life," said Miroku, twirling a strand of Sango's hair in his fingers. Sango turned an even deeper shade of crimson, but stayed silent, although she was careful to leave distance between Miroku and herself.

Inuyasha looked very awkward. If he was to sit down next to Sango or Miroku, Kagome would be alone and hurt. If he was to sit next to Kagome, it would look like he was hitting on her and, all feelings for Kagome aside, he did not want Miroku or Sango to see him doing that. However, he thought with a slight jump in his stomach, if he sat next to Sango, it would look like he was hitting on _her_, and that was worse than the other two options.

He nervously sat down and slid uncomfortably over to Kagome, looking very out of place. Kagome turned a delicate shade of pink as she began to scrub a particularly muddy spot on her arm. Inuyasha (innocently?) glanced at her, and realizing that they were supposed to be bathing and not just looking at one another, followed suit.

After she was clean, she made to get out of the springs, but something grabbed her ankle. She looked down in surprise to see Shippo clinging to her leg, gazing up at her adoringly.

"Can you help me, Kagome?" he said, throwing her his irresistible puppy-dog eyes. She nearly laughed; she had completely forgotten that Shippo was there.

"Sure, sweetie," she said in a maternal tone, sliding back into the springs. She grabbed a spare sponge from the side of the springs, and began to scrub his back. Shippo sighed in content, and Inuyasha spared them a fleeting, jealous glance. Oh, what he would do to be Shippo right now…

A few minutes later, Shippo was nearly clean, and Kagome thinking that this incident hadn't gone nearly as badly as she had thought that it would have. However, no sooner did this thought go through her mind then she heard a sharp intake of breath and a loud smack. Dreading the worst, Kagome looked up.

She was not surprised to see a large, red hand-print on Miroku's cheek, but she was even more surprised to see that Sango was in tears. Usually when Miroku's hand wandered beyond its limits, Sango was angry and upset, but remained impassive. She didn't think she had ever seen Sango cry.

"Sango…" said Kagome weakly. "Don't…don't cry…"

This statement seemed to bring Sango back to reality. Her face was wiped clean of emotion; sort of unnatural to be able to do that, she thought, but she must have had a lot of practice. She squirmed at that uncomfortable thought.

Sango slipped out of the spring, water dripping off of her wet, pale skin, and she began walking very fast up the hill, shivering.

Kagome glared at Miroku, who was staring at Sango's retreating form, looking stunned. "What did you do now, Miroku?" she hissed, sliding out of the bath as well.

Miroku seemed to just then notice that he was not alone. "Oh…" he said, coughing nervously. "I…I don't quite know. I mean, she was…so….and I just couldn't…couldn't control myself…"

Miroku looked quite uncomfortable enough already, so Kagome decided not to yell at him at that moment; there would be plenty of time for that later. "I hope you're ashamed of yourself," she whispered angrily as she got of out of the spring and grabbing two towels; one for herself, and one for Sango. They couldn't afford to get sick, not with the dance the following night. She then broke out in a run to catch up to Sango, leaving behind an embarrassed monk and a very discomfited-looking half-demon.

-----

Night had fallen, and the skies were a dim gray. The wind had picked up, and Kagome could see her own breath by the time she had caught up with Sango.

"Sango," Kagome shouted hoarsely through chattering teeth, a bit out of breath. Sango, especially when she was angry, could walk very fast. Sango ignored her, rubbing her shoulders in hope of some non-existent warmth.

Kagome groaned and quickly caught up, putting her hand on Sango's shoulder. She stopped walking, but still stared straight ahead, determined not to look at her. "Oh Sango," she said softly. "What's wrong?"

Sango looked away from her, apparently very interested in the bird nesting to her left, her lip trembling. "Nothing," she said jerkily, trying very hard not to cry. "I just…fancied a walk." She looked up at Kagome, looking so pathetic it made Kagome want to burst into tears herself.

"Come here," she said gently, holding out her arms. Sango let out a shuddering sob, and flung herself into Kagome's arms, crying and trembling in the cold. Kagome threw her towel over Sango's shaking body in a fruitless effort to warm her, and Sango's shivering seemed to slow.

"Shh," said Kagome soothingly, rubbing her hand in small circles on her back. "Oh Sango, what happened?" Sango swallowed and took a few deep breaths before she responded.

"Miroku…obviously couldn't control himself," she gasped, her pretty face streaked with tears. "He…oh Kagome –"

"Its okay, Sango," said Kagome softly. "You can tell me, I won't tell Inuyasha –" she ignored the frisson that went through her body as she said his name," –or Shippo."

"I know." Kagome felt her smile weakly on her shoulder. She heard Sango take a deep breath as she started to explain. "Well…his hand was around my shoulder," she was gulping for air now as her tears came down more steadily – "And…it went down a bit too far, and – and…"

Kagome sighed as Sango sniffled on her shoulder. 'You jerk, Miroku,' she thought in her mind, sending angry thoughts that she hoped Miroku could feel. He deserved them; look what he had reduced Sango to! Brave, reliable Sango, crying on _her_ shoulder? She would have much more expected it to be the other way around.

"Oh Kagome," she moaned. "You have no…any idea what it's like…"

Kagome let out a long breath. "Don't I?" she spoke, a slight bitter tone in her voice.

Sango looked up, surprised. "What do you mean?" she said slowly.

Kagome laughed harshly. "You aren't the only one with someone who doesn't respect you, Sango."

Sango sighed, her breath spiraling in the frigid air, feeling somewhat ashamed and inconsiderate. Of course Kagome was in the same position as she was! An ashamed feeling swept over her, and she bit her lip; how could she have forgotten? What kind of friend was she?

"Sorry," she whispered, but Kagome held a finger to her lips, pointing silently to two dark silhouettes approaching them, barely visible in the gathering darkness.

"Let's go," Kagome whispered, and the pair quietly crept up the remainder of the hill to their tents.

It was only once Kagome had reached the tent that she and Sango shared that she realized how cold she really was. Her fingernails were tinged with blue, and her teeth were chattering madly. She pulled her towel tighter against her slender body in a feeble attempt at further warmth.

"Come on," she said, holding back a shudder and turning around to face Sango. "Let's get out of these wet –"

But Sango wasn't there. 'That's odd', she thought. 'She was just behind me…' Curious, she peeked her head outside of the tent, and saw Sango being led away by – Miroku?

-----

**A:N://** A tip for aspiring or current writers: LISTEN TO MUSIC. Music is probably my biggest inspiration, and its good to keep your gears going. Reading other fanfiction is good, but you have to make sure that you aren't subconsciously (or consciously) stealing people's ideas. You can _piggy-back_ ideas, perhaps, but not too detailed-like.

Okay folks, that concludes this weeks segment of 'So You Want To Write Fanfiction?"!

Haha. Only kidding.

Erin


	4. Chapter Four

**Dance by Moonlight – a fanfic by yellownotepaper**

**Category: **Inuyasha

**Rating:** PG-13

**Summary: **Kagome doesn't have a date to the school dance. kag.inu

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha or any of its character's.

**-----**

**IV. Speak.**

Kagome sighed, though she wasn't sure if it was from relief or sadness. She slowly turned around and went back into her tent, closing it to undress. As she slipped her towel down to hang at her feet, she shivered. The nights really were getting colder. 'The winter dance is coming up', she thought suddenly, a feeling of intense sadness washing over her.

'Am I still going with Inuyasha?'

As if on cue, the tent flap opened to reveal a rather harried looking dog demon. His mouth fell open as he stared at her, as she was completely unclothed. A deep red blush began colouring his cheeks. Kagome gave him a look of horror.

"INUYASHA!!!!"

He looked as if he might wet himself. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!!" he wailed as she grabbed a towel and held it to her chest, her face dangerous and her face burning. He ran outside of the tent and closed it behind him, and she heard him begin to run away.

"Oh no, Inuyasha," she muttered, an evil glint in her eye. "You are _not_ getting away that easily…" She took a deep breath.

"_SIT!!!!"_

The loudest smack she had ever heard in her life followed this shout, which was soon accompanied by a string of very impressive curses. She smirked with satisfaction, although her face remained a bright red. The unattractive grin vanished as she collapsed on the floor, closing her eyes and holding a hand up to her heaving chest. "That'll serve him right, that peeping Tom," she whispered to herself in an attempted haughty tone, though the effect was ruined by the trembling of her hands.

The cursing outside was getting steadily fouler, and she sighed heavily. She'd best go outside and see why he was coming to see her anyway, although it _was_ an excellent opportunity to gloat. She grabbed a bathrobe and wrapped it quickly around herself before exiting the tent and heading towards the mud spattered Inuyasha. He spat mud on the floor and, realizing that she was standing before him, had the decency to look ashamed.

"Sorry," he mumbled, and Kagome couldn't help but be a bit surprised. Even though this whole ordeal was his fault, he would usually find some way to place the blame on her shoulders, or at least to yell at her for 'sitting' him.

He glanced away, seemingly unwilling to make eye contact. "I just wanted to ask you…" he trailed off and mumbled something incomprehensible, and Kagome glanced at him in confusion. Her dark hair fell into her eyes, and she brushed it away impatiently.

"What?" she asked, genuinely curious. This time their eyes did make contact, and she gasped softly at the sadness that was hidden in his golden eyes.

"Nothing," he said gruffly, looking at his feet. "It wasn't important." Kagome knew he was lying, and smiled at him, slightly impatient.

"Inuyasha," she said softly, encouragingly, and grabbed his arm. He inhaled sharply, his eyes still apparently very interested in his mud-splattered feet.

He sighed, and bit his lip. "I wanted to know…if you still wanted to go to the dance with me," he mumbled so quietly Kagome thought she might have imagined it. "After what happened down there…"

The moonlight was reflecting in his golden eyes, his ears twitching nervously. She felt her knees weaken at how adorable he looked, and took in a deep breath before answering, quite unwaveringly, "Of course I do."

He looked at her in pleasant surprise, his mouth curving into a small smile. "Really?"

She couldn't help but grin back at him. "Of course. It wasn't your fault." She smiled, before adding resentfully, "It was Miroku's."

"Speaking of which…" said Inuyasha remarkably, looking around. "Where are those two?"

-----

A soft crunching noise could be heard as he lead her through the woods, his warm hand pressed against the small of her back, but Sango couldn't hear it; the horribly loud pounding of her heart had drowned out all other noise. Trees towered above them, blocking the little sun that was left in the dim evening.

"This way," said a deep voice in her ear and she shuddered, though it wasn't from the cold. He led her to a clearing, where a single strand of moonlight lit up a fallen tree that was lying in the corner. He sat down on it and she followed suit, shuddering slightly as a heavier wind picked up.

He put his arm around her, and a dizzying heat filled her up from the very inside like she had just drunk hot sake. She snuggled into his shoulder, and she could practically hear him smile, before he took in a deep breath and began to speak.

"Sango," he began, sounding nervous. "I really didn't mean it…I mean, I wasn't even thinking…"

Sango sighed, the magical spell broken. "I know you didn't, Miroku," she said slowly. "But you really have to learn to control yourself."

Miroku nodded and rested his head on hers, tightening his hold around her waist. Her hand found his and she grasped it desperately, her heart pounding a vicious tattoo in her chest. He squeezed it and lifted his head, letting go of her hand to tilt up her chin until they were face to face.

Sango thought she might faint. Their lips were inches apart now…

And they kissed; a clumsy, desperate, _longing_ pulsing through them both as they pulled the other closer. It was wonderful; it seemed that their existence up to this point was leading up to this moment. The evening turned to blackness, but they were too wrapped up in the other to notice the stars twinkling as the sun disappeared.

Needless to say, neither got much sleep that night.

-----

**A:N:// **That last bit there was _not_ sexual innuendo; I just meant that they were up snogging all night. Snogging. That's it. Nothing else.

Erin


	5. Chapter Five

**Dance by Moonlight – a fanfic by yellownotepaper**

**Category: **Inuyasha

**Rating:** PG-13

**Summary: **Kagome doesn't have a date to the school dance. kag.inu

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha or any of its character's.

**-----**

**V. Jealousy.**

"Come on, Inuyasha," Kagome moaned, dragging her knapsack behind her as she walked wearily to the Bone-Eaters Well. "This was a bad idea," she muttered to herself. "A terrible, luxurious idea…"

She lost her temper suddenly and yelled, with all of her might, "INUYASHA!"

She heard a frightened sort of noise behind her and whipped around, her long, black hair flying into her face. Inuyasha stood there, looking quite scared.

She sagged with desperation, resting one hand on the stone base of the well. "Sorry," she said, ashamed.

Inuyasha shook his head. "Don't worry about it." Strangely out of character, she thought. He looked oddly nervous; he was biting his lip, his eyes darting around the grounds.

"Let's go," she said, swinging her bag over the edge of the well and jumping in after it. She heard a swish and knew he had followed her. Sure enough, when the colours had stopped spinning and she was standing on the quite solid surface of the Higurashi well, he was standing next to her, looking stony-faced.

"Hat," she reminded him, and he wordlessly put on the beanie that they kept near the well to cover his ears.

They walked out the door and down the pathway to the shopping center in comfortable silence, which was broken only by the pitter patter of his bare feet on the trail or the occasional sigh.

"Here we are," Kagome said finally after several minutes of stillness. Inuyasha followed her line of sight to see a rather small looking shop that read 'Tuxedo's R Us' in bold handwriting across the top. He furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Tuxedo?" He glanced at Kagome, who was smiling at him. Ignoring the fluttering in his chest, he asked, "What's that?"

Kagome grinned rather evilly, and the hair on the back of Inuyasha's neck stood up in warning. "Oh, you'll see."

-----

"I can't believe that guys wear these _willingly_," Inuyasha gasped, pulling on the collar of his tux to ensure him a stronger air flow. Kagome laughed; a silvery, musical laugh that made his heart beat faster than it should.

"I think you look very handsome," she said, her eyes crinkled with laughter.

Inuyasha looked at his reflection in the mirror again, and sighed. "I suppose its fine," he mumbled, and Kagome clapped her hands with glee.

"Oh, this is going to be so much fun!"

Inuyasha scowled at her, but this seemed to make her laugh even harder. The corners of his mouth twitched unwillingly, and he was about to speak when the tinkling of the bell that signaled an entering customer made him swallow his words.

A tall, dark haired boy entered the shop, his eyes focused on the ground. He heard Kagome inhale sharply, and watched as the boy's eyes flickered onto her. "Kagome?" he said, a smile tugging the corners of his mouth.

Kagome looked helplessly at Inuyasha before saying, rather wearily, "Hello, Hojo."

Hojo. Inuyasha's hands curled into angry fists. Her little admirer, was he? Well, he would be teaching him a thing or two…a nice little private lesson…

"What are you doing here?" said Hojo happily, walking over to her and placing a hand possessively on her shoulder.

"I'm…" Kagome faltered. Her eyes fixed onto Inuyasha's fuming face, and she shrugged weakly before Hojo spoke again.

"I've wanted to ask you something, Kagome," he said smilingly in a would-be-casual tone. "About the Winter Ball?"

"_Oh,_" said Kagome fearfully, her eyes darting from Inuyasha to Hojo and back again. "That."

Hot fury was coursing through Inuyasha's veins. He couldn't take this anymore. Standing right there and asking _his Kagome_ on a date? His knuckles were white with anger, and he coughed loudly.

Hojo glanced in his direction, and his grin seemed to slide off of his face.

"Who's this, Kagome?" he said politely, though a distinctly harder edge was evident in his voice.

Kagome looked feebly at her Mary Janes. "He's…um…"

"Her date," finished Inuyasha harshly, striding over to Kagome and putting a careless arm around her. His tone was casual, but his meaning could not be clearer: 'She's mine.'

Hojo looked shocked, and stepped backwards a few steps. "Oh," he said in an unconvincingly calm voice. "Well, I – er, must be, uh, going now –" He ran out the door and out of sight.

Inuyasha did a little victory dance in his mind. 'I win,' he thought savagely. 'Take that, Hojo, you pompous little –'

"Inuyasha," said Kagome impatiently, tugging at his arm and interrupting his thoughts. "That wasn't nice."

He stared at her in mock confusion. "I was a perfect gentleman!" he said in falsely affronted tones, and Kagome giggled. She was so close that he could smell the perfume of her hair…He put a hand on the small of her back, and heard her take in a quick breath. His heart was beating much too fast…

Kagome coughed, and moved backwards away from him. "Well, I suppose we should pay for this then," she said quietly, and walked out of his grasp and up to the cashier. Inuyasha stood there limply, the warmth that had filled him when she had been standing in his arms now gone.

-----

**A:N://** This was a fairly short chapter; possibly the shortest in this series. Sorry. o)

Erin


	6. Chapter Six

**Dance by Moonlight – a fanfic by yellownotepaper**

**Category: **Inuyasha

**Rating:** PG-13

**Summary: **Kagome doesn't have a date to the school dance. kag.inu

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha or any of its character's.

**-----**

**VI – Dance.**

Inuyasha scowled and pulled on his tie. Why did people wear these things, anyway? They were itchy and tight, and generally uncomfortable. He would much rather wear his usual attire, but Kagome had insisted. He grudgingly agreed, and was now severely regretting his kindness. He leaned casually against the side of the Higurashi Shrine, and fell into relieving, cool shade.

He blew a stray lock of black hair out of his face, huffing irritably. Where was she?

Miroku, who had also found comfort next to him, seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "They should be out soon," he said conversationally, but Inuyasha simply grunted. He didn't much feel like talking; he was afraid that if he spoke, his voice would tremble with the nervousness that had pooled in his stomach.

The creak of a door opening caused Inuyasha to start; he glanced around, looking for the cause of the disturbance. Butterflies erupted in his stomach as he realized that it was the door to Kagome's house that had just opened. A silvery stiletto heel stepped over the threshold as the tall, graceful figure that was Kagome tread elegantly down the front steps, followed quickly by Sango. He heard a sharp intake of breath from beside him.

He had already made up his mind that he was not going to show any signs of emotion at her appearance, but he could not restrain a gasp as her eyes locked onto his, an anxious smile gracing her lips. Her dress was gorgeous; a pale, shimmering blue ball gown that hugged her flat stomach and flared out at her slender hips. A silvery flower clip adorned her long black hair, which sparkled with a sort of magical sheen.

Sango looked quite nice too, he supposed, her hair curling in pretty ringlets and adorned with tiny, swirling clips that matched the violet colour of her dress, but he could not seem to drag his eyes away from Kagome.

It was frightening him, how much she could affect him without even saying a word. He gulped and managed to drag his eyes off her, only to look at his feet, which were squeezed into a pair of shiny black loafers. "You look nice," he mumbled.

He could feel his face heating up, and heard Miroku step away from him towards Sango. "You look beautiful," Miroku whispered, and he could practically see Sango flushing. He bit his lip, exposing two pointy fangs, and looked up just in time to see Miroku kiss Sango.

His heart beat faster. So they had finally gotten together, then. Officially. That left him in a rough spot. He and Kagome would now be expected to get together, and however much he would like to do that, he just wasn't good with pressure. He closed his eyes quickly, and opened them again to see Kagome's confused face staring at him, inches from his own. He gulped again.

"Are you alright, Inuyasha?" she said softly.

Inuyasha coughed. "Yes, yes, fine," he said very fast, his cheeks red and his eyes purposely avoiding her own. He heard a sigh, and felt a small hand slide into his own sweaty one.

He looked at her in surprise, and she smiled at him, sending a swooping sensation coursing through his veins. "Ready to go?"

Inuyasha took a deep breath, and nodded.

"Let's go."

------

He heard Kagome gasp behind him as they entered her normally dismal-looking gym, and he could honestly not blame her. Blue and white tinsel hung from the walls, festooned with various silver orbs and stars. Some sort of shiny blue ball was hanging on the ceiling, shining light on various couples dancing to a rather fast song as it turned. He looked around in surprise at the loud, thumping music that was pulsing through the room. It seemed to be coming from a strange looking man wearing a rather odd looking red hat with a white pom-pom hanging off the top end, who was standing in front of a big black box with funny-looking earmuffs on his ears.

"How is he making that music?" he demanded of Kagome, who laughed; a silvery laugh that sent a chill down his spine, though it was quite warm in the room. She began to talk about some 'DJ' person, although Inuyasha didn't quite comprehend what she was saying. He was too busy watching the light dance off of her shining hair, or feeling a flutter in his stomach as she sent occasional smiles in his direction.

After a few seconds of silence, he realized that she had finished, and quickly asked another question for the opportunity to admire her again without looking too suspicious. "What's that thing on his head?" he said quickly, pointing to the funny hat on the 'EJ's' head (or whatever he was called).

Kagome stared at him in disbelief, and he squirmed uncomfortably under her gaze. "You don't know what that is?"

Inuyasha shook his head, and Kagome gaped at him.

"What?" he said finally, after a few more seconds of silence. Kagome closed her mouth and laughed dryly.

"I can't believe you don't know what that is."

"Just tell me!" Inuyasha demanded, now severely curious as to what this mysterious hat symbolized.

"It's a Santa hat," said Kagome simply, as if that explained everything.

"A what hat?" said Inuyasha blankly.

Kagome stared at him in utter horror, and Inuyasha felt fear flood into his stomach. What had he said? Did he offend her in some way? But before he could say anything, Kagome had begun to laugh. Inuyasha felt the fear be replaced with sheer confusion. What in lord's name was she laughing about?

"Oh, Inuyasha," she said, wiping a tear from her eye only seconds later. "I've forgotten, I'm so sorry." And then she went on to tell him about a great fat man called Santa Claus, who snuck into people's houses at night and left presents behind.

"He sneaks in?" said Inuyasha, affronted. "So he's a robber?"

Kagome giggled, and shook her head. "No, he's a good man who leaves presents behind for families, and makes them happy."

"But how does he get in?" Inuyasha questioned. "Don't you lot have some sort of protection against burglars?"

"He's not a burglar!" Kagome said with a smile. "And yes, but he comes through the chimney."

Now it was Inuyasha's turn to stare at her in disbelief. "The _chimney?_"

Kagome nodded, and Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Stupid fairy tale."

Laughing, Kagome took his hand (Inuyasha felt his heart rate speed up) and dragged him over to where Sango and Miroku were sitting at a small table for four.

"Hey, you guys!" said Kagome cheerfully as she and Inuyasha took the two empty chairs. "Having fun?"

Miroku sighed, and glanced over at Sango, who looked upset. "Not exactly," he said quietly.

Kagome frowned, her brow furrowed. "Why not?"

Miroku shrugged, and looked at Sango. She turned her head slowly so her violet eyes caught Kagome's, and bit her lip. "I want to dance," she said softly. "But Miroku won't dance with me." She tossed Miroku a fierce glare, and he seemed to deflate a bit under her steady gaze.

"I don't know how!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air hopelessly. "I would if I could!"

Sango sighed and looked at the table determinedly, but Kagome managed a small smile. "C'mon, Miroku, it's not that hard. Here, I'll show you."

She grabbed his hand and, before he could protest, dragged the helpless houshi off to the dance floor. Inuyasha watched them wistfully, guiltily wishing that it was him that Kagome was wrapping her arms around, that it was he who was placing a hand on her delicate waist.

"She's not going to wait forever, you know."

He jumped, momentarily forgetting that he was not alone. "What?" he said grumpily, having not heard her properly due to his raging jealousy, which had blocked out all other sounds.

Sango sighed and smiled sadly at him. "She loves you, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha felt heat rush to his face, and quickly said, "What are you talking about?"

Sango laughed, and he was surprised to hear how amused she really was. He couldn't remember Sango being this cheerful in a long time. "You know who I'm talking about, Inuyasha. And if you don't make a move soon, she'll move on."

Inuyasha sat gaping at her for a minute or two. He opened his mouth to reply several times, but merely closed it again, as no words seemed to want to come out. Thoughts whirled through his mind, many of them containing inappropriate images of himself and Kagome. He quickly shook his head to rid himself of that (pleasant) mental image, and just as he thought he might be able to force out a response, a soft hand was on his shoulder.

"Your turn," said a sing-song voice in his ear, and he felt himself being whisked out of his chair and onto the dance floor, where the DJ? had just struck up a slow song. He glanced at his kidnapper in surprise, and realized that is was Kagome, smiling up at him and wrapping her slender arms around his neck.

He nervously placed his hands on her waist, and pulled her closer. Oh, how right it felt; she seemed to be the perfect puzzle piece to fit his own. She nuzzled her head into his shoulder; he felt her smile, and couldn't hold back one of his own.

They danced for a few songs; although not all of them were slow, they continued to sway gently among the frenzy. She sighed in content after awhile, and he felt her warm breath in his ear. "Do you want to go for a walk?" she breathed, and Inuyasha felt once more as if he had skipped a step going downstairs.

"Oh-Okay," he stuttered, and she had once again snatched his hand and nestled it softly in her own as if it had belonged there all along.

-----

**A:N://** Aww. I like that last line. Its so damn CUTE!

If you look at the beginning of this story, Inu is all irritable and angry like he is in the series, but now he's all cutsey and lovey and dovey! I hope its not overdone, though. Flames are welcome.

Erin


	7. Chapter Seven

**Dance by Moonlight – a fanfic by yellownotepaper**

**Category: **Inuyasha

**Rating:** PG-13

**Summary: **Kagome doesn't have a date to the school dance. kag.inu

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha or any of its character's.

**-----**

**VII. End.**

"It's beautiful out here, isn't it?" Kagome sighed happily as they walked slowly along the dirt path leading to the outside garden, hand in hand.

Inuyasha coughed. "Yes – er – very beautiful," he managed to choke out. Kagome smiled at him, and swung her arms back and forth like a child. He looked at his feet, embarrassed, and noticed that the hairs on her arm were standing up.

Automatically, he stopped and took off his suit jacket, wrapping it around her shoulders. She looked at him in pleasant surprise, beaming at him. "How did you know I was cold?"

"Goosebumps," Inuyasha muttered, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Kagome smiled, and pulled his right hand out of its pocket and intertwining it with her own. He bit his lip again and let free a rare smile, although Kagome did not see.

They walked in comfortable silence for awhile, just content with the others company. Kagome occasionally oohed or ahhed at various outside decorations, but Inuyasha merely grunted in acknowledgement and continued walking. Soon, however, a question burned on the tip of his tongue, one that he had wanted to ask for ages. No matter how hard he tried to restrain it, it seemed to just slip out -

"Why did you ask me to this dance?" he blurted. He immediately regretted his words as Kagome threw him a strange look that he could not identify. She remained silent for a minute or two and, although she didn't seem angry, Inuyasha couldn't help but wish he hadn't said anything.

"Sorry," he muttered, a blush staining his cheeks.

Kagome shook her head, looking anxious about something. "Don't be," she said pensively, touching her free hand to her lips as if thinking. She looked at him suddenly, and stopped walking. Inuyasha stopped too, and turned to face her. She was staring at him with an odd expression on her face. "Do you really want to know?" she said softly.

Inuyasha scowled, but looked at his shoes and nodded. He felt a soft hand graze his chin, tilting it upwards as to look into Kagome's now smiling face. "Because," she whispered, moving closer. "I wanted to do _this._"

And she kissed him.

-----

For a moment, Inuyasha was paralyzed in shock. Kagome was kissing him. She was actually _kissing_ him, after all this time! He was simply too stunned to respond. Kagome pulled away hesitantly a second later, after he had not showed any interest to return her kiss; it was so fast that Inuyasha thought for sure that he had imagined it.

"Sorry," Kagome squeaked, backing off a few steps. "I was – oh no…" Her face was the reddest colour he had ever seen, and she looked as if she might cry at any moment. Inuyasha felt a soaring, swooping sensation in his stomach; so he had _not_ imagined it, after all!

"I should go," Kagome said, her voice breaking with emotion as she turned away from him and made to run back down the path towards the dance. With a stabbing fear, he ran after her and grabbed her arm.

She slowed and came to a stop, her face determinedly looking at the ground. He tilted up her chin, as she had done to him not a minute before, and his eyes met hers. At the desolation in her eyes, he couldn't help but laugh.

Kagome seemed to take his humor the wrong way. Snatching his arm out of his grasp, she hissed, "You think this is funny, do you?"

"No, no! That's not what I meant!" Inuyasha cried, still laughing. "Kagome –"

And as she turned to face him, her face red with fury, he kissed her.

It wasn't nearly as awkward as their previous kiss; this one was fiery and passionate and _aching_. A burning hot hunger was coursing through them both; a want, a _need_ to be closer, to be one. Kagome made a sort of mewing noise in the back of her throat and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer. Inuyasha felt his own arms snake around her slight waist, pulling her flush against him.

After a minute or two, they pulled apart, panting, their noses brushing. "Inuyasha," Kagome breathed, her hot breath spiraling above them both in the cold air (although both were far from cold). "I've wanted to tell you for so long…"

She trailed off and twirled a lock of his hair around her fingers, as Inuyasha waited impatiently. Her face was red again, contrasting with the creamy paleness of her skin.

She took a deep breath.

"I…love you."

Inuyasha froze, his arms still around her frail body. She looked horribly embarrassed, even more so than before. If she kept blushing like this, her face was going to stay a brilliant red forever.

Emotions were swimming through his mind so fast he could not comprehend them all; he wanted to speak but he found that he couldn't make a sound. Though he had already sort of known that she had felt this strongly about him from Sango earlier that night, it still came as a giant shock to hear Kagome say it from her own lips.

"Inuyasha?"

Kagome's uneasy voice cut through Inuyasha's thoughts like a knife. She looked upset; her eyelashes were frozen with her tears. "Um," began Inuyasha fearfully, not knowing quite what he was going to say. "I –"

"You don't have to say anything," said Kagome, smiling weakly, although he knew the words that she wanted to hear; he just couldn't seem to voice them. "I just…wanted you to know."

She looked down, and Inuyasha immediately felt horrible. How many times was he going to break her heart? With these words, he seemed to find the courage to speak. He placed his shaking hands in her own, and took a deep breath.

"I've loved you…for awhile."

Kind of unromantic, but it would do.

Kagome looked up in surprise, hope dawning on her pretty, tear stained face. "You – you have?"

"Yes, dummy," said Inuyasha with a smile, leaning their foreheads together.

Kagome grinned back, her face lighting up like the baubles that lined the pathway back to the school. "I've never seen you smile so much," she whispered, stroking his hand gently with her thumb.

Inuyasha shrugged half-heartedly. He wasn't in the mood to talk now; he was ready for some more snogging. He blushed at the thought. "I'm happy when I'm around you."

Kagome gave a choked laugh and shook her head, looking at her feet. When she looked back at him, he was surprised to see that she was crying.

"Kagome!" said Inuyasha in horror. "What's wrong?"

Kagome gave another strangled giggle, and shook her head. "I'm _happy_, you jerk!" Tears streamed down her face and fell onto their intertwined hands.

Inuyasha looked strangely at her. "Then why are you crying?" he said slowly, uncomprehending. Girls were so weird.

"I don't know," said Kagome helplessly, still grinning uncontrollably. Inuyasha grinned back, before leaning in for another kiss.

For once, things might just turn out right.

-----

FIN

-----

**A:N://** Gah, the story that wouldn't end! I tried so many times to end it, but it just kept going on and on and on and on… I got very exhausted and tried to quit it several times, but I kept getting good ideas in math class. Weird.

R&R sweeties!!!

Erin


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